Konstantin Bazhanov, presbyter

Father Konstantin Bazhanov was born on June 3, 1879, in the village of Selishchi, Ryazan Province. In 1900, he graduated from the Ryazan Theological Seminary and was ordained a priest in 1902. He dedicated all 35 years of his pastoral service to the Archangel Michael Church in the village of Kolesnikovo, where he enjoyed great authority. In marriage to Yevgeniya Nikolaevna, he had seven children. In 1929, his family lost their property due to taxes, and he was sentenced to one and a half years of imprisonment. In 1937, he was arrested as an active participant in a counter-revolutionary organization and, despite denying the charges, was sentenced to death by shooting on December 6.